• Skip to main content
Peters Township Public Library Logo
  • Catalog
  • My Account
  • Donate
  • Home
  • Services
    • Library Cards & Borrowing
    • Meeting Rooms
    • Print & Copy Services
    • Other Library Services
  • Explore
    • Youth Services
    • PTPL Archives
    • Makerspace
    • Memory Lab
    • Seed Library
  • Events & Programs
    • Events Calendar
    • Summer Reading 2025
    • Reading Challenges
    • Read Local Eat Local
    • Library News
    • Book Clubs
    • Novel November
    • Program Proposal Request
  • Resources
    • Digital Media
    • Resources – A to Z
    • Resources – By Subject
    • Resources – Youth Services
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Contact Us
    • Hours & Location
    • Library Administration & Mission
    • History & Timeline
  • Support Us
    • Donate Now
    • Ways to Donate
    • Peters Township Library Foundation
    • Open Bookstore
    • Volunteer
    • Cart/Checkout
Peters Township Public Library Logo
  • Catalog
  • Account
  • Donate
  • Home
  • Services
    • Library Cards & Borrowing
    • Meeting Rooms
    • Print & Copy Services
    • Other Library Services
  • Explore
    • Youth Services
    • PTPL Archives
    • Makerspace
    • Memory Lab
    • Seed Library
  • Events & Programs
    • Events Calendar
    • Summer Reading 2025
    • Reading Challenges
    • Read Local Eat Local
    • Library News
    • Book Clubs
    • Novel November
    • Program Proposal Request
  • Resources
    • Digital Media
    • Resources – A to Z
    • Resources – By Subject
    • Resources – Youth Services
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Contact Us
    • Hours & Location
    • Library Administration & Mission
    • History & Timeline
  • Support Us
    • Donate Now
    • Ways to Donate
    • Peters Township Library Foundation
    • Open Bookstore
    • Volunteer
    • Cart/Checkout

News

U.S. Army War College Officers Discuss Security Challenges

December 28, 2023 by Sydney Krawiec

The Peters Township Public Library will welcome senior officers from the U.S. Army War College for a panel discussion on Security Challenges at Home & Abroad. The officers will appear in person at the library on Thursday, February 8, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. A question-and-answer session will follow the presentation.

Register at ptlib.org/awc24 to reserve your seat for this program.

This is the 18th consecutive year the library has hosted a panel discussion with officers from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. This presentation is part of the Eisenhower Series College Program with the U.S. Army War College. Seating is available in the lobby and around the second-floor rotunda.

Featured speakers for the program include:

Mr. Christopher Sandrolini is a career Foreign Service Officer with the United States Department of State and will serve as the moderator for the discussion.

Colonel Seana M. Jardin is an Army Human Resources Officer with 24 years of service. An air defense PATRIOT missile officer who later transitioned to the Human Resources career field, she has led a variety of organizations across her career and has deployed to Saudi Arabia, Korea, Kuwait, and Iraq. COL Jardin holds an undergraduate degree in psychology from the College of William and Mary and a master’s degree in management and leadership from Webster University. Her last assignment was as the Staff Director for the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, providing advice on women’s policy to the Secretary of Defense. She is married and has three dogs.

Lieutenant Colonel Luis F. Peral is a U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate and a federal prosecutor on the civilian side. With over 23 years of combined military and prosecutorial experience, LTC Peral’s diverse assignments and work experience include that of a commander; Resident Legal Advisor, U.S. Embassy Honduras; Lead for the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Forces; and Attorney Advisor for the Office of Intelligence. LTC Peral holds a Master of Science in Strategic Intelligence from the National Defense Intelligence College, a Juris Doctorate from Temple University, a B.A. in Political Theory from Florida International University, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Juilliard School.

Lieutenant Colonel William Phillips of the Arkansas National Guard enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1991 and rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant. Twelve years later, he completed Officer Candidate School and became a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry. LTC Phillips has held multiple leadership roles, including Congressional Affairs Contact Officer, commanding a 700-person battalion, and State Public Affairs Officer for the Arkansas National Guard. Will is a 2019 summa cum laude graduate from the University of Charleston, West Virginia, with a Master of Science in Strategy. He is the father of six kids and lives in Little Rock, Arkansas, with his wife, Tracie, where he contributes to several civic organizations focused on elementary education.

Lieutenant Colonel Christina Taylor of the Idaho Army National Guard was commissioned in 2002 as a Medical Service Corps Officer. LTC Taylor held a wide variety of leadership assignments in the National Guard, including commanding a Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team and a Brigade Support Battalion with over 400 personnel. She earned a bachelor’s from the University of Idaho while in the Reserve Officer Training Corps and a master’s in leadership from Central Michigan University. She is currently working on a Master of Strategic Studies at the United States War College. Taylor lives in Boise, Idaho, and enjoys mentoring at-risk youth.

Peters Township Public Library is a GOLD STAR Library, which is part of the Pennsylvania Library Association PA Forward initiative. Libraries can give citizens of all ages the knowledge and skills they need to improve their lives, to contribute effectively in their communities, and to participate in civil discourse.

Filed Under: News

Romancing the Reader Author Panel

December 2, 2023 by Sydney Krawiec

Join eight local authors as they share information about their craft and answer questions from the audience! A panel discussion will be followed by light refreshments, book signings, and opportunities to purchase books from the authors. Registration is required to help plan this event.

1:30-2:30 Author Panel & Discussion in Multipurpose Room – Limited Seating, Click here to register online and reserve your seat!
2:30-3:30 Book Signings & Sales in Lobby

View the authors and their works below!

Michael Buzzelli

Michael Buzzelli is a stand-up comedian and sit-down author. As a comedian, he has performed all around the country, most notably, the Ice House, the Comedy Store and the Improv in Los Angeles. As a writer, Michael Buzzelli has been published in a variety of websites, magazines and newspapers. Buzzelli is a theater and arts critic for ‘Burgh Vivant, Pittsburgh’s online cultural talk magazine. He is also a Moth Grand Slam storyteller and actor. Buzzelli has presented workshops on humor to the Romance Writers of America and the Pennwriters Conference.

His books, Below Average Genius, a collection of essays culled from his weekly humor column in the Observer-Reporter, and his romantic comedy, All I Want for Christmas, are on sale at Amazon.com. His short story, “Study Buddy” is in a collection of LGBTQ romance short stories titled, Winter Break.

Annette Dashofy

Annette Dashofy is the USA Today bestselling author of fifteen mystery novels. Helpless is the 12th in her six-time Agatha Award nominated Zoe Chambers mystery series with What Comes Around (Zoe Chambers # 13) slated for release in May. Keep Your Family Close is the second in the Detective Honeywell series set along Lake Erie. And her standalone, Death By Equine, won the 2021 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award for excellence in Thoroughbred racing literature. She is a board member of Pennwriters and is president of the Pittsburgh Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Annette and her husband live on ten acres of what was her grandfather’s dairy farm in  southwestern Pennsylvania with their very spoiled cat, Kensi.

Lainey Davis

USA Today bestselling author Lainey Davis lives in Pittsburgh with 3 feral sons, 2 rescued rabbits, and 1 tired husband. She writes steamy, contemporary love stories with grouchy heroes, strong heroines, and plenty of fiascos. She’s excited to find out how much coffee is too much.

 

Carrie DiRisio

© 2017 Powder Blue Photography. www.powderbluephoto.com

Carrie Ann DiRisio is an author of both young adult and adult novels, with a love for stories that surprise as much

as they delight. She resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she spends her days writing, drinking coffee, and practicing her baking skills in case she’s ever called upon to join the Great British Bake-Off as an American contestant. Her most recent published work is a Regency-inspired romance, with an espionage twist.

Susan Helene Gottfried

Susan Helene Gottfried is the heavy-metal-loving, not-disabled enough divorced Jewish mother of two. A freelance line editor to authors of fiction by day, her select roster of clients tend to hit bestseller lists, and more than a few have quit their day jobs. It’s not entirely her doing, but like does attract like.

Tales from the Sheep Farm is her offer to her fellow diverse authors to create a world in which all are welcome. Come dream and build it with her.

Susan holds a BA (University of Pittsburgh) and MFA (Bowling Green State University) in English Writing and Fiction, respectively. She lives with a couple of cats in the Pittsburgh suburbs, just West of Mars.

Sheryl Nantus

Sheryl Nantus is an award-winning romance writer published by Entangled, St. Martin’s Press/Swerve, and Harlequin’s Carina Press. When she’s not writing, she is sipping tea, playing board games and writing haiku. A total fangirl at heart, she met her husband through an online fanfiction community and currently lives in Pennsylvania.

Linda Rettstatt

Linda Rettstatt began her writing career at the tender age of 18 while working as a classified ad clerk for her hometown newspaper. She covered the local community theater stories no one else wanted to cover, and she did so with enthusiasm, insisting upon a by line. Rettstatt’s creative nature steered her into a career as a semi-professional folk musician for a number of years. Finally, in 2002, she sat at a computer determined to find out if she could write a novel. That novel and three more were contracted by a small press. She moved from small press publishing to self-publishing in 2014 and has forty-eight novels and novellas and several short stories in her bibliography. Her work twice won the prestigious EPIC eBook Award.
In April of 2021, Linda retired from her social work position in NW Mississippi and relocated back to her home state of Pennsylvania where she continues to write and to offer services as an editor and writing coach.

Melissa Wiesner

Melissa Wiesner’s mother didn’t allow her to watch much TV as a child and, instead, made her play with paint, colorful pipe cleaners, random bits of fabric, and other crafty things. This set up Melissa for a lifetime of creative pursuits, and it was only a matter of time before things took a bookish turn. A night owl, Melissa began writing novels when her early-to-bed family retired for the evening. She is the author of emotional women’s fiction and romantic comedies. Along with her charming husband and two adorable children, Melissa splits her time between the big city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and rural West Virginia.

Filed Under: News

Library Foundation welcomes “V.E.” Schwab for Novel November

September 6, 2023 by Lacey Love

The Peters Township Library Foundation is excited to announce that Victoria “V.E.” Schwab will be the featured author for their upcoming Novel November event. The literary event will take place on Wednesday, November 1, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. at the Peters Township High School Auditorium in McMurray, located at 121 Rolling Hills Drive. This program will be the sixth in the Novel November series, with previous featured speakers including Yaa Gyasi, Tim O’Brien, Anna Quindlen, Taylor Jenkins Reid, and Andy Weir.

Ticket Sales

Tickets for the event will go on sale on Thursday, September 7, 2023, and can be purchased online at ptlib.org/veschwab. Adult general admission tickets are priced at $30, while student tickets are available for $5. All general admission tickets include a post-event book signing with Schwab. Riverstone Books, The Foundation’s independent local bookselling partner, will sell Schwab’s books before and after the program. Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity to hear from a New York Times bestselling author.

A limited number of VIP tickets will be available for $75. The VIP ticket includes a reception with music and light refreshments from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. in the Peters Township High School cafeteria. VIP ticket holders will receive a copy of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and attend a pre-event book signing by Schwab. You can also purchase tickets at the Peters Township Public Library circulation desk.

About V.E. Schwab

Photo of Victoria "V.E." Schwab“V.E.” Schwab is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books, including the acclaimed Shades of Magic series, the Villains series, the City of Ghosts series, and the international bestseller The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. When not haunting Paris streets or trudging up English hillsides, she lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is usually tucked in the corner of a coffee shop, dreaming up monsters. 

 

More about “V.E.” Schwab

Addie LaRue is Invisible – But Memorable https://www.npr.org/2020/10/08/921305498/addie-larue-is-invisible-but-memorable

The Book of VE Schwab’s Heart
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/profiles/article/84041-the-book-of-v-e-schwab-s-heart.html

Author VE Schwab on writing monsters to help her readers fight real life https://www.cbsnews.com/news/victoria-schwab-author-darker-shades-first-kill-writing-young-adult-fantasy/

Visit her YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@veschwab_onwriting

Filed Under: Adults, Announcements, Book Clubs, News

Mythic Fiction Writing Contest Winners

June 7, 2023 by Lacey Love

Throughout April, the Youth Services Department accepted submissions for a unique writing contest for tweens and teens. The contest’s theme was “mythic fiction,” in conjunction with the library’s NEA Big Read Grant featuring the novel Circe by Madeline Miller.

Library staff member Elizabeth May coordinated the contest, entered by ten tweens and three teens. May offered a workshop in March to help participants prepare for the contest. The teen entries were all retellings of classic Greek and Norse mythology, all with strong female characters. The tween entries took a more general approach of being mythology-inspired or featuring a mythic creature.

Library staff, The Peters Township Library Foundation members, and celebrity judges reviewed all the entries based on three criteria: creativity, technique, and theme. 

Over 50 people attended a reception on Thursday, May 4, at the library to announce the winners. Each tween and teen who participated were given a certificate of participation. The top two winners in each category for tweens and teens did a reading of their entries for their families and friends. Both runners-up and grand prize winners received prizes. May plans to hold another themed writing contest next year to encourage the craft of writing.

Select the writer’s name to read their entry.  

The winners included:

Tweens:

Grand-prize winner: Dora Liu

Runner-up: Claire Heller

Teens:

Grand-prize winner: Hannah Cataneo

Runner-up: Hannah Crnkovich

Additional writers included:

Andrew Bricker
Alissa Diraimondo
Ashley Hafenbrack
Zachary Hathaway

Jo Myers
Thomas Oxenreiter

Alaina Petrovich

Filed Under: All Ages, Announcements, News, Teens

U.S. Army War College Officers return to PT Library

May 1, 2023 by Lacey Love

The Peters Township Public Library will welcome senior officers from the U.S. Army War College for a panel discussion on Applying Strategic Empathy: From Humanitarian Relief to Great Power Competition. The officers will appear in person at the library on Tuesday, May 23, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. A question-and-answer session will follow the presentation. Register at ptlib.org/awc23 to reserve your seat for this program or to receive a Zoom link to watch from your home.

This will be the 17th consecutive year the library has hosted a panel discussion with officers from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. This presentation is part of the Eisenhower Series College Program with the U.S. Army War College.

Strategic empathy is one of many capabilities the U.S. Army War College seeks to enhance in the rising senior leaders who participate in its resident 10-month master’s degree program. Government actors become more effective when they apply strategic empathy and thereby more fully understand the nuanced perspectives and motivations of their allies, partners, competitors, and adversaries.

 


Featured speakers for the program:

Dr. Michael Neiberg will serve as the moderator for the discussion.

Colonel Dena Goble will share her insights regarding the importance of strategic empathy as a U.S. Army Reserve military police and civil affairs officer recently responsible for leading 800 soldiers during US resettlement operations for thousands of Afghan refugees.

Brigadier General Atul Bhat from the Indian Army will give the audience an opportunity to improve their own strategic empathy for India as he candidly explains the historical challenges, current dilemmas, and emerging opportunities for India as it navigates the great power competition between the United States and China.

Peters Township Public Library is a GOLD STAR Library, which is part of the Pennsylvania Library Association PA Forward initiative. Libraries can give citizens of all ages the knowledge and skills they need to improve their lives, to contribute effectively in their communities, and to participate in civil discourse.

PA Forward Gold Level Library

 

 


About the Speakers

Michael S. Neiberg is Professor of History and Chair of War Studies at the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. His published work specializes on the First and Second World Wars in global context. His Potsdam: The End of World War II and the Remaking of Europe (Basic Books, 2015) won the Harry Truman Prize. The Wall Street Journal named his Dance of the Furies: Europe and the Outbreak of World War I(Harvard University Press, 2011) one of the five best books ever written about that war. His latest book is When France Fell: The Vichy Crisis and the Fate of the Anglo-American Relationship (Harvard University Press, 2021), which won the 2022 Society for Military History Book Prize. In 2017 he was awarded the Médaille d’Or du Rayonnement Culturel from La Renaissance Française, an organization founded by French President Raymond Poincaré in 1915 to keep French culture alive during the First World War.

Colonel Dena Goble has over 35 years of Army Reserve service. Enlisting at 17, she has served in numerous leadership positions of increasing responsibility. Her expertise is as a military police officer specifically with detainee operations in Guantanamo Bay Cuba and Iraq. She has trained with other militaries in Japan, Tajikistan, Jordan, and Germany. As a civil affairs professional Colonel Goble partnered with the Jordanian Armed Forces to enhance the integration of women into their military. She also liaised intergovernmental coordination for the Syrian refugee crisis. Most recently, she led over 800 Soldiers in support of the Department of Homeland Security during the resettlement of Afghan evacuees.

Brigadier General Atul Bhat of India is an armored officer who has served in various parts of India. He has held varied command and staff assignments during his 30 years of service, including command of an infantry company during Counter Insurgency Operations, command of an armored regiment and an armored brigade, and he has served as deputy commander of an armored brigade at extremely high altitude in the Himalayas. He is a graduate of the Indian Staff College and Higher Command courses. An electronics engineer, he belongs to the northern Kashmir province of India and has traveled widely across his country.

Filed Under: Adults, Announcements, News

NEA Big Read CIRCE

March 9, 2023 by Sydney Krawiec

PT Library is one of 62 organizations across the country participating in the 2022-2023 NEA Big Read. From April 1 to May 11, our community will celebrate Circe by Madeline Miller with a full calendar of events for all ages. The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read is designed to broaden our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. PTPL has partnered with The Peters Township Library Foundation, Washington & Jefferson College, Peters Township Parks & Recreation, the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh, the Peters Township Chamber of Commerce, and Mondays Brewing Company to offer a wide variety of programs and activities for the community. If you have media inquiries about PTPL’s Big Read, please contact Assistant Director Illyanna Logan.

Circe features topics in Greek Mythology and history and themes of independence and resilience that weave their way through the library’s offering of events and activities. A partner read for youth was also selected as part of this program. Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Choksi features an Indian-American twelve-year-old who navigates through Hindu folklore to save family and friends, all while wearing her Spiderman pajamas.

Register for programs through the event calendar and continue reading to find more community activities!

Join us at the library as we kickoff a month of programs surrounding Circe by Madeline Miller. See Washington County Spinners & Weavers Guild demonstrations, visit Hummus Pittsburgh’s food truck, grab free copies (while supplies last) of Circe or our partner read Aru Shah and the End of Time, and participate in our community art project. No registration is necessary, and all ages are invited. This event will be at the library on Saturday, April 1, from 12 to 2 pm.

 

On Thursday, May 4, NYT best-selling author Madeline Miller will discuss her journey in imagining one of the most (in)famous witches in literature, including her inspiration, research, and writing process. This event will be at 6:30 pm and held via Zoom, but viewing parties will also be held at Chartiers-Houston Community Library, Eva K. Bowlby Public Library, Monongahela Area Library, and Peters Township Public Library. Register for the zoom link here.

 

The library and Chamber of Commerce invite you to take a journey through Peters Township! Pick up a passport at the library and explore the township while you collect secret phrases on your odyssey. Discover mythical characters and creatures while exploring Peters Township! Return your passport to the library for a chance to win a prize. More stops = more chances to win!
Passports will be available starting April 1 at the NEA BIG READ Kickoff event and throughout the month of April.

 

All ages can log their reading and complete activities in our Circe-inspired Bingo Challenge on the Beanstack App. Read mythic books, attend library events, or take your own little odyssey in a park. Once you have Bingo, come to the library for a prize on or after April 10!
https://ptlibrary.beanstack.org

 

The library that brought you the world-renowned Hogwarts Digital Escape Room invites you to Escape the Labyrinth. Test your knowledge and puzzle skills as you try to escape the Minotaur’s Labyrinth! Will you be able to unravel this mystery, or will you fly too close to the sun? This virtual escape room will be available online. Just click here to play!

Filed Under: Adults, All Ages, Announcements, News

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Page 4
  • Page 5
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 21
  • Go to Next Page »

Let's Stay In Touch

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Never miss a beat at the PT Library with our email newsletter!

SUBSCRIBE!

Hours

Monday - Thursday: 9 am to 8 pm
Friday: 9 am to 4 pm
Saturday: 9 am to 4 pm
Sunday: CLOSED

Address

616 E. McMurray Road
McMurray, Pennsylvania 15317

Phone

724.941.9430

We are a . . .

WAGGIN Library
WCLS Library
PA Forward Gold Star Library
Supporter of PT Character Counts

Power Library Logo

We are members of the . . .

McMurray Rotary
PT Chamber of Commerce

© 2020 Peters Township Public Library. All Rights Reserved.